The Harpers at Twilight

The Harpers at Twilight are a semi-secret organization dedicated to promoting good, preserving history and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature.

Public Agenda

The organization is dedicated to promoting good, preserving history and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature.

History

The Harpers were a semi-secret organization dedicated to promoting good, preserving history (including art and music of old) and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature by keeping kingdoms small and the destruction of animal and plant life to a minimum. They considered the elven empire of Ulash'Menel (current day Ulash) shortly before its fall to be the pinnacle of civilized history.
The Harpers have disbanded several times, but after each time they eventually reformed one way or another. The idea behind the Harpers was conceived by several Amnestrian moon elven military leaders in collusion with a few trusted human rangers and druids. The Lunara mage Kalakainen Everwinter agreed to lead such a group in secret during the Weeping War in 296 BCR as the head of a council which also included a number of humans, moon elves, and half-elves. They took for their symbol Everwinter’s family crest – a silver harp between the horns of a crescent moon and would meet at twilight at secret locations, earning them the moniker – the Harpers at Twilight.
The Harpers at Twilight dwindled in number over the next century, victims of anti-war efforts and attrition at the hands of their enemies – Sunari sympathizers, bandits, drovesti, evil practitioners of the arcane arts attracted to Amnestria's wealth and knowledge, and those who profited off the Weeping War. The war, by its conclusion, decimated the remaining members of the group. By the end of the conflict, Kalakainen was dead as were all but a handfull of the Harpers at Twilight. All did not end in tragedy for the group however; the Harpers aided in the assassination of Lord Sammaster Ancathildin - Speaker of the Sun. This act, removed the head of the serpent and ended the bloodthirstiness of the Sunari. The remaining Harpers at Twilight established an incredibly effective information network, and earned the respect of religious leaders by using that network to help their causes. In return, they were granted the use of fortified temples and monasteries wherein members could train and recuperate between missions.
It was during the period known as the "Long Years" within the organization that the Harpers assisted in the erection of the wards along the Amnestrian border. The Harpers' increasingly public actions also made them come into more frequent conflict with various churches to maligned deities; those who were worshiped from the shadows. One such group was the Church of the Serpent from the nation of Nuvos. Eventually, cultists from Nuvos hired assassins to hunt down the remaining Harpers.
Over the centuries, the Harpers have reformed and been disbanded a handful of times. Corruption, in-fighting, targeting by enemies have all taken place within the group throughout the years. Most recently the members of the Harpers were required to wear pins capable of casting the Sending spell. It was thought this would be a way for members to communicate and report over great distances but it also proved to be an easy way for their enemies to find and isolate them. These days, the Harper’s Pin is still required wearing by members, albeit secretly, but they are strictly ornamental. These pins fetch a high price on the black market, as the only way to rightfully obtain one is to become a member. That in itself is no easy task these days.
Most members are either rangers or bards, though many wizards and druids are also their willing allies. The Harpers are led by a council of High Harpers, who are responsible for most of the group's long-term plans and goals. High Harpers are elected through the means of secret ballots among the other High Harpers, with the criteria being long time service and extreme discretion in the implementation of their plans.

The Harper Code:
Harpers work against villainy and wickedness wherever they find it, but they work ever mindful of the consequences of what they do.
All beings should walk free of fear, with the right to live their lives as they wish.
The rule of law aids peace and fosters freedom, so long as the laws are just and those who enforce them lenient and understanding.
No extreme is good. For freedom to flourish, all must be in balance: the powers of realms, the reaches of the cities and the wilderlands into each other, and the influence of one being over another.
Whatever it takes, a Harper will do. Pride never rules the deeds of a true Harper.
Freedom is a multiversal right, though Harpers can spare themselves less freedom than those they work to protect when the need presents itself.
Harpers police their own. A Harper who hears the call of personal power can no longer hear the sweet song of the harp. A Harper who seizes power, and holds it above all else, is a traitor to the harp. Traitors must die for freedom to live.
Without a past, no being can appreciate what they have, and where they may be going.

Whatever it takes, a Harper will do.

Founding Date

296 BCR

Type

Secret, Brotherhood

Alternative Names

The Harpers